Ukrainian soldiers take part in a training exercise at an undisclosed location in southern Britain, 22 August 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE/NEIL HALL
London and Paris are spearheading a plan to send European peacekeeping troops to Ukraine once a deal to end the war has been reached, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
Though a proposal to deploy European peacekeeping troops to Ukraine has been on the table for a year, according to The Associated Press, growing fears over US President Donald Trump’s apparent moves to sideline both Ukraine and Europe in his attempt to negotiate a peace deal with Vladimir Putin directly, had expedited discussion of the plan.
A force of up to 30,000 troops European troops “would not be stationed along the contact line but would stand ready as a show of force if Russian forces tried to restart the war”, The Post wrote, adding that France signalled its readiness to commit 10,000 troops, though other European countries were “uneasy” about deploying troops, with others having “constrained militaries”.
While Washington has ruled out sending its own troops to Ukraine, Europe still hopes to receive US operational support in the form of intelligence sharing, air support and air defence, The Post continued.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Sunday that “if necessary” he was ready to deploy British troops to Ukraine as part of an eventual peace deal, which could put pressure on other European leaders to make similar pledges.
However, after an emergency European summit in Paris on Monday, several European countries, including Germany and Poland, expressed their wariness of deploying their militaries to Ukraine as part of any peace agreement, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling the discussion “completely premature”.
